Silvia Tcherassi Resort show signals commitment to North American retail expansion

By

Roxanne Robinson

Published
Jun 7, 2022

​“It’s all color and movement, and that’s it!” said Silvia Tcherassi.

The Colombian designer was on hand with her children, who have key roles in the business—daughter Sofia Espinosa Tcherassi as director of RTW and Mauricio Espinosa Tcherassi as director of innovation—to present her Resort 2023 collection with a breakfast-slash-fashion show at the new Fasano Restaurant New York. The show was two years in the making, having been initially delayed due to the pandemic.

​Color and movement summed up the collection that was strong on tiered full skirts and bishop sleeves. Batik fabric treatments, strategic cut-outs, and one-shoulder gowns in an array of bright tropical colors and bold patterns may have suggested a typical Latin style, but daughter Sofia suggests otherwise.

“We design for a specific type of woman, very feminine; we love to cater to entrepreneurs, for instance, but we don’t do a traditional suit,” she said herself sporting a Silvia Tcherassi draped belted white jacket with satin batik print pant, adding “We do it with our DNA and our clientele doesn’t have a nationality, she is a type who wants happiness in her life.”

​While she notes that being from a hot climate and currently the family resides in Miami does have an influence, the pattern and color aren’t the antitheses of the New York client.

“A business associate said to me, ‘Americans are scared of color, and I disagree. I think English people might fear color, but truly for me, I found it’s a misconception. New Yorkers and Americans love color.”

She backs this up with an example. “One of our top three retailers is Bergdorf Goodman, and they are only located in New York City. Saks is always number one, but they have stores around the country.”

The designer Silvia Tcherassi insists it’s the versatility of the clothing. Wearing a long white tunic dress, cream boots, and an oversized embroidered clutch, she remarked that this city ensemble would also be at home in Capri with sandals and a straw bag.

The brand’s North American expansion started five years ago when son Mauricio joined the company and expanded the typically vertical direct-to-consumer brand to wholesale in the United States. “The brand is having a great moment in the U.S., especially in the southern states when the client resonates with our clothing,” he said.

While having previously announced plans to reopen their Bal Harbor retail store post-pandemic in a newer and more prominent space in the mall, the brand executive announced plans for more stores across the American south. Currently, the brand has eleven stores globally with six in Colombia, Madrid and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, among others.

“We are planning to open five more stores in the U.S. in 2023 in cities such as Palm Beach, Houston, Dallas, and Tampa,” said Tcherassi’s son, adding the wholesale partners such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Moda Operandi have highlighted where the fans of the brand gravitate. 

“For example, Tampa. I had no idea that Tampa was a cool market or had a lot of wealth. Today, we have four women who flew up on their private jet from Tampa, a client from the Glazer family of the Tampa Buccaneers, and another connected to Tampa Bay Lightning. There is a lot of American wealth in that city. Maybe they don’t want to go to Miami for the whole scene there, so a lot of money is there. I am eyeing that next and the same with Palm Beach,” he continued.

Events like the Resort show have been vital to brand awareness. “We went to these markets to do trunk shows or runway shows like today, and we have seen an amazing reaction to the brand,” he said, noting an event last September with Tootsies in Houston attended by 400 customers that raised over $400,000 for the Lance McCullers Jr. Foundation.